*********************************************************
Traditional Beijing crepe restaurant Mr Bing announced today (January 10) that its first restaurant has opened in Central, introducing a local Beijing dish to Hong Kong and overseas people, especially to the large number of Mainland Chinese who are living and working in Hong Kong.
What also makes the restaurant special is its American founder, Mr Brian Goldberg, who studied in Beijing in 1998 and was so fascinated by the traditional "jianbing" (Chinese crepe) that he decided to create his own street crepe brand in Hong Kong. He plans to expand it to other cities in the region and globally where many Mainland Chinese live and work.
Located on Wellington Street in Central, Mr Bing is not only serving the traditional "jianbing" street crepe in a quick, hot, healthy and affordable way, but also offering additional toppings and creative combinations to expand beyond the basic traditional "jianbing" and cater to people in Hong Kong keen to try new food concepts.
Founder Mr Goldberg said that his brand will target the huge "offshore" crepe market of Mainland Chinese in cities across the region. "Hong Kong is a natural starting point given the number of Mainland Chinese who work and live here and the increasing number of Mainland visitors," he said. Potential places for Mr Bing's expansion would include Singapore, Macau, Taiwan, the US and Europe.
He added, "Making crepes requires a relatively small space, so it also gives us lots of flexibility in easily expanding in places such as MTR stations, airports and prime shopping malls, which customer traffic frequents."
The Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion, Mr Andrew Davis, lauded the new concept of Mr Bing and said, "The story behind Mr Bing is interesting - an American who studied in Beijing sees the opportunity to introduce Chinese street food culture overseas. With the high number of international and Mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong, the city provides an excellent platform for Mr Bing to showcase its brand to the world."
About Mr Bing
Created by Mr Brian Goldberg, a Hong Kong-based, American-born fluent Mandarin speaker, Mr Bing is the first Beijing crepe store in Hong Kong to offer customers the quick, hot and affordable Asian street snack. Advised by one of the most established "jianbing" crepe operators in Beijing, Mr Bing combines traditional recipes and cooking techniques with fresh local ingredients. For more information, please visit www.Mr-bing.com.
About Invest Hong Kong
InvestHK is the department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government established in July 2000 to take responsibility for Foreign Direct Investment and support overseas and Mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong. It provides free advice and customised services to help businesses succeed in Hong Kong's vibrant economy. As at June 2012, InvestHK had completed over 2,600 investment projects, creating more than 30,000 new jobs in the first year of operation or expansion and HK$67 billion of investment. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.
For event photos, please visit www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/sets/72157632481731027/.
Ends/Thursday, January 10, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:35
NNNN